Cheesecake Factory

Some Americans' answer to the recession blues: Eat more cheesecake -- or at least don't eat a lot less. Shares of Cheesecake Factory Inc. rocketed 19% on Friday after the Calabasas Hills-based restaurant chain late Thursday reported better-than-expected first-quarter sales and earnings. Same-store sales were down 3.4% compared with a year earlier, but that was far better than the 6% decline that analysts, on average, had expected.

The owner of the Glendale Galleria shopping mall has agreed to pay a $48-million legal settlement to developer Rick Caruso, owner of the competing Americana at Brand shopping complex. The settlement ends an appeal by Galleria owner General Growth Properties of a 2007 court decision ordering the company to pay Caruso's firm $89 million for trying to prevent a restaurant chain from locating in the Americana.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed suit against Cheesecake Factory Inc., saying male-on-male sexual harassment occurred at one of the chain's restaurants and that supervisors ignored complaints. The class-action suit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Arizona, alleges that three victims were harassed for months by groups of male employees at the chain's Chandler, Ariz., restaurant.

Mohan Ismail seared thinly sliced beef tenderloin as he dodged flames shooting from the side of a red-hot wok ring. The Singapore-raised chef was working on a recipe that reminded him of the flavors his mother once created. Ismail mixed the meat with red onions, fish sauce and lemon grass. Seconds later, he placed the almost scorched, crispy meat on a bed of watercress.

Cheesecake Factory Inc. has big hopes for its new Asian restaurant, but it won't be looking to RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen to reignite growth at the company, once a Wall Street star. RockSugar opens June 19 in Century City, just as its parent company is facing investor discontent over a sagging stock price, declining profit and falling sales at its established restaurants.

Cheesecake Factory Inc. posted lower quarterly results as bad weather worsened a decline in sales at established restaurants. The Calabasas Hills-based company had first-quarter net income of $14.3 million, or 21 cents a share, matching the average of analysts' estimates compiled by Reuters Estimates. Year-earlier net income was $18.4 million, or 24 cents. Revenue increased 10% to $393.8 million. Sales at restaurants open at least 18 months fell 1.8% in the quarter, as inclement weather lowered results by about $1.6 million.

Cheesecake Factory Inc. posted quarterly earnings that fell more than Wall Street had expected and shares shed 6.6% after a soft U.S. economy prompted it to lower full-year forecasts. Sit-down restaurants such as Cheesecake Factory have seen their margins under pressure as their customers grapple with a downturn in the U.S. economy as well as higher food and energy costs. For 2008, the restaurant chain said it now expected revenue growth of 10% to 12% and earnings per share growth of 10% to 15%. In October, it forecast 2008 revenue growth of 14% to 15% and earnings per share growth of 22% to 24%. The company also cut its plan for restaurant openings in a bid to lower costs and improve results at existing outlets.

"We're so busy with three kids [Zach, 18; Leah, 15; and Minor, 11] and the Philharmonic, our schedules are nuts," says viola player Mick, 46, who also teaches and is finishing a PhD. Despite their hectic household in La Canada, he and wife Stacy, 50, first violin, still make beautiful music together: "After 23 years of marriage, Stacy's still my first choice to do something with. We don't see each other enough and try to get away by ourselves."